


End of it All

by Kirusan



Category: Captain America (Comics), Iron Man (Comic), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Pre Superior Iron Man, Slightly - Freeform, captain America spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 19:40:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2122275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirusan/pseuds/Kirusan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So came up with this when making an ask with qouinette on tumblr and got me thinking about how 616 Tony is supposed to become Superior Iron Man.</p><p>This is supposed to be after the events after Captain America 22.</p>
            </blockquote>





	End of it All

He was just standing next to the doorway, carrying roses, thinking about finally going into the room. Thinking about it he didn’t know why he brought flowers, roses of all flowers. But now he was thinking about whether he should go into the room or not. He knew what was inside. An old man lying in bed, slowly withering away, slowly dying. He didn’t want to see that, especially not now. Memories of who that man lying the bed used to be flooded his head. All the battles, all the victories. After all,that man used to be the stronghold, the leader of the Avengers. He was Captain America. Now there he was lying in that big bed, looking so small and miserable.

With Steve in his current condition, there’s been talk about who will be the one to take on the shield and cowl. He heard that maybe Sam will take the position. Where did that idea even come from? If anyone were to be Captain America, he would have thought that Steve would have had Barnes do it. Barnes was closest to Steve, wasn’t he? He was his childhood friend, like his brother and all. But Sam, Sam was his-.

It didn’t matter. It wasn’t his decision to make. It was Steve’s. Steve who is lying in that bed, aging into an old man with every second passing. Coming closer and closer to a horrible fate that he never wanted to witness. A world where Steve is gone. Again.  
He inhale deeply, trying to see if he could keep the bile that he knew that was about to rise up his throat. He wasn’t here to think about. He wanted to prevent that from happening. He wanted to see if he could fix the problem. That’s why he was here. They said that the serum was somehow neutralized while Steve was in that dimension with the Iron Nail. He could fix that though. He’s helped Steve before when the serum was tapered with by some bastard and returned him back to his American glory. So he can do it now.

Steve would be happy to let him help him out right? He would be happy that he might have found a way to help kick start the Super Soldier Serum back up and Steve would be Steve again. It killed him thinking about Steve not doing anything, not being able to jump in when danger arose and beat the bad guys to a pulp. He was sure that Steve hated it too. Hated being so powerless. Steve was never one to just sit on the sidelines and do nothing.  
He thought that maybe Extremis held the answer to reacting the serum and getting Steve back on his feet. If he was could only just modify Extremis so that it would ‘heal’ the serum properties to how they used to be, or restart the serum somehow and allow it to…No. Steve would never go for that. Steve had always hated Extremis. He always said that Extremis changed him and it was never for the good. Steve would never allow him to use it to help him get the Serum working again. He wouldn’t give him the chance to show that it could work. That it could make him better again.

No. It’s not that he wouldn’t give him the chance. Steve always trusted him, always given him all the chances he deserved. Even more of the ones he didn’t. Its just that Steve knows that he won’t be able to fix this. He knows that he is just going to fuck it up. He always seems to be fucking things up. No matter how much he tries to fix things, they always seem to spiral out of control, making a bigger mess then he could ever hope to fix. How is this any different? He would just make things worse for Steve and then Steve would never be able Captain America again. It would be all his fault. In wanting to help him, he would just end up hurting Steve even more. That sounds about right. Except he cant get it right. He just ends up fucking things up. Tony The-Fuck-Up Stark.

How did things end up like this? Things used to be so much simpler. He just ran a company. There was no Iron Man. There was no Captain America. There were no Avengers. He never cared about crime or world invasions. He just had to deal with board meeting, company development, Pepper’s nagging, Rhodey’s nagging. But he can’t go back to how things used to be. That would be completely irresponsible of him. He has to be Iron Man. He has to keep his friends and family safe. But-

No. He can go back. He will go back. Everything that happened before, that’s happening now, he’s just going to push it all back. All it will be is a memory from a distant past. He doesn’t need them, he doesn’t need the Avengers, and he doesn’t need Steve. Without Steve he wont be pushed into doing the right thing. He wont be pressured to live by Steve’s standards. Steve is a past memory that he is going to forget about. Maybe not now, but he is going to put it all past him.

He doesn’t have to think about others anymore. He doesn’t want to think about anything right now. He just wants to go home and be by himself from now on. He doesn’t need anyone. All he needs is himself. That’s how he used to live, and that’s how he’s going to do it again.

Its not like he’s going to be moping around thinking about Steve and the Avengers. He has so many plans right now, all with Extremis at the stepping-stones of everything. Steve might not want to use Extremis to help him now, but he can use Extremis to help him to secure his company’s future. It’s time for him to work for himself. Its time for Tony Stark. Everything else doesn’t matter. Not anymore.

He doesn’t want anything anymore then to just forget the last decade of his life. It used to be just him and Steve. Him and Steve fighting crime with the Avengers. Him and Steve sharing small moments together in the tower on relaxing days. Him and Steve and each other’s throats. He and Steve tearing each other apart. It was always Steve with him. Now, Steve is no longer going to be in the picture. He is no longer going to hear Steve call him Shellhead anymore. He is no longer going to have those special sparring sessions with Steve anymore. No more. No more. No. More. It’s all gone. What’s the point?

He retreats from the wall, stepping on roses he doesn’t remember dropping. He thinks that he hears his name. He almost hesitates, turn on his heels and goes in the room, but he reminds himself that it’s nothing now. It’s just a lost memory.


End file.
